Secret Santa generator: exclusions and one link per person

Draw who gives to whom, excluding couples and last year's pairs, then send each person a link that shows only their own recipient. No sign-up, no email.

How to organize a Secret Santa: draw, exclusions and links

Each participant gives a gift to one person drawn at random, never to themselves. The tool respects your exclusions, first checks that a draw is possible, and gives everyone a link that shows only their own recipient.

Method

  1. Enter at least 3 participants with distinct names.
  2. Add exclusions. A couple is excluded both ways. Last year's draw is excluded one way: if Alice gave to Bruno, she cannot give to him again, but Bruno can give to Alice.
  3. Before drawing, the tool checks that at least one draw meets every rule; if not, it says so instead of searching forever.
  4. The draw uses the browser's cryptographic randomness (crypto.getRandomValues). Participants are shuffled and the first shuffle that meets every rule is kept, so each valid draw has the same chance. If there are very many exclusions, a controlled backtracking search takes over, and equal chances are then no longer guaranteed.

Example

With 4 people and no exclusion, there are 9 draws where nobody gets themselves, each with a 1 in 9 chance (11.1%). If Alice and Bruno are a couple, only 4 remain, at 25% each. Two people in a couple cannot draw at all.

Links and privacy

Each participant's link shows only their recipient, with the budget and date if you set them. The name is encoded in the part of the address after #, which the browser handles on its own: it is not part of the request that loads the page. This is not encryption: without a server, the organizer, or anyone who gets a link, can read it. The tool does not display the pairs; send each link to the right person only.

Sources and dates: W3C, Web Cryptography API (getRandomValues); IETF, RFC 3986, section 3.5 (fragment) (checked on 29/10/2026)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I run a Secret Santa remotely without signing up?

Enter the names, run the draw, then send each person their link by message. Each link shows only the recipient of the person who opens it; no account or email is required.

How do I stop a couple from drawing each other?

Add an exclusion and tick “both ways”. With 4 participants, excluding one couple cuts the possible draws from 9 to 4.

What happens if the draw is impossible?

Before drawing, the tool checks that at least one draw meets every exclusion. If someone excludes everyone else, or if only 2 people who are a couple take part, it says so instead of searching forever.

Can the organizer see who gives to whom?

The tool does not display the pairs, but without a server each link contains its recipient, merely encoded: the organizer could open it. To keep the surprise, the organizer sends the links without opening them.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, all tools on Kristools are 100% free and accessible without registration.

Is my data protected?

Yes. All processing is performed directly and securely inside your browser. No personal data is sent to our servers.